Mid December I was fortunate enough to get a Seesmic invitation. After logging in, at first I didn't understand what was happening, but after watching what was going on for a while it finally clicked.
Seesmic in simplest terms is a way to post video clips like a video blog. Everyone posts their clips one at a time, and they are all listed in a sequential time line. It is "Alpha" so there aren't advanced features like threaded conversations, but that will come.
Right now it is one continuous time line of posts and many conversations take place in that time line, in many ways similar to Twitter. In order to sort out the chaos, as a general rule almost everyone participates in whatever is the current set of "topics". When the discussion of the current topic trickles off, the next topic pops up and everyone starts posting on the new topic. There is overlap of several discussions going on at once, and in general there are about 6 different topics that are "current". You can go back into the time line to find the earlier topics that were discussed.
I think most new users don't understand the flow of what is happening and don't believe that "real" conversations take place. Because everyone just posts a video clip that is recorded inside the Seesmic UI, it might not appear that real conversations are taking place. But in fact a unique form of communication is happening. Something that I will call "Turn Based Conversations".
In a regular conversation with a group of people or even just one other person, the possibility exists that one person is a better or more persistent communicator than the other. In this situation the dominate speaker takes up most of the conversation. Another situation is where one person isn't as verbally expressive as the other, in this case the introvert might not be able to get their thoughts out in real time in a way that they meant.
Another situation is when a group of people are all talking together. One person might start to say something, but then gets cut off because someone else interrupts them. All of these situations are what we experience every day.
Seesmic is different. Each user can take the time to record what they want to say and show. If they mess up their message, they can discard it and start over. When they are happy with it, they can "post" it and it hits the top of the time line, along with all the other incoming posts. Each post has a title so you know which topic it belongs to.
For someone who is not a great public speaker or feels uncomfortable revealing a lot of information in a live face-to-face manner, Seesmic is terrific. If you are a "quiet" person, you can still get your complete thought into the discussion. There is no pressure to come up with a fully baked idea in real time. You can think about what you want to say, then record it, and then post it. It is video, so everyone else sees your face and well as hears your voice. That is another great thing about Seesmic, because you "see" the person posting, you get some "context" of where they are coming from.
If you like to talk "a lot", Seesmic is also great. You can participate in as many conversations as you like and there is no limit on how many posts you can make. If you create stuff that is interesting to others, the other members can "Follow" you.
You take your "turn" to add in what you want to say. Your complete idea hits the time line along with the posts from everyone else all doing the same. You follow the conversations by listening and watching the posts in turn, usually sequentially as they happen, but you can also jump around to any post in the time line.
The result is that the conversations that do take place are "deeper" than what would probably happen if they were live in real time. Because you are recording off-line, most people can assemble a coherent thought that adds value to the conversation.
There are a lot of goofy topics, and some people are not serious, but the other interesting thing about Seesmic is that everyone is civil. There is no name calling, no rude obscenities, or unacceptable behavior. Everyone justs posts what they think about the current set of topics. Much of the material is not "G" rated, but none of it is "X". Most posts are G, PG and R (for explicit language).
Seesmic is not about "arguing" in order to determine who is the best orator, it is about sharing. Any because there is a global audience, the contributions from people all over the world make up a unique type of conversation that could not be replicated in any other format.
With "Turn Based Conversations", everyone is equal. One person can not totally dominate the discussion. It is an "opt-in" system. If you like the topics being discussed, opt-in and post what you feel. If you don't like the current topic, then just move on to the next one or start a new topic.
Once the system is fully developed and massive numbers of users sign up, there needs to be a way to segment the conversations. Undoubtedly there will be a lot of useless, foolish, stupid stuff added once the masses show up. The basic types of filtering mechanisms used for other communication tools should fix this problem.
If you are looking for a way to express yourself verbally in a way where you are not under any pressure to come up with genius thoughts on every post, then Seesmic is something you will want to check out. There have been some hilarious discussions and online "parties", as well as serious discussions about world events. Because users are from all over the world, you get a unique perspective that extends beyond the everyday cultural ideas that you are used to in your local part of the world.
Some people won't "get it", but if you just go-with-the-flow of what is being discussed, eventually it will sink in. Because it is video, and very simple to record a new post, the conversations move very swiftly. Much more so than any other text blog or text chat system. Sometimes it is hard to keep current with the time line because so many new posts are being added every minute. It can be great fun.
One other thing, your video posts can be tied into your Twitter account so when you add a new Seesmic post, you also send out a Tweet.
"tonyperez" on seesmic
Seesmic in simplest terms is a way to post video clips like a video blog. Everyone posts their clips one at a time, and they are all listed in a sequential time line. It is "Alpha" so there aren't advanced features like threaded conversations, but that will come.
Right now it is one continuous time line of posts and many conversations take place in that time line, in many ways similar to Twitter. In order to sort out the chaos, as a general rule almost everyone participates in whatever is the current set of "topics". When the discussion of the current topic trickles off, the next topic pops up and everyone starts posting on the new topic. There is overlap of several discussions going on at once, and in general there are about 6 different topics that are "current". You can go back into the time line to find the earlier topics that were discussed.
I think most new users don't understand the flow of what is happening and don't believe that "real" conversations take place. Because everyone just posts a video clip that is recorded inside the Seesmic UI, it might not appear that real conversations are taking place. But in fact a unique form of communication is happening. Something that I will call "Turn Based Conversations".
In a regular conversation with a group of people or even just one other person, the possibility exists that one person is a better or more persistent communicator than the other. In this situation the dominate speaker takes up most of the conversation. Another situation is where one person isn't as verbally expressive as the other, in this case the introvert might not be able to get their thoughts out in real time in a way that they meant.
Another situation is when a group of people are all talking together. One person might start to say something, but then gets cut off because someone else interrupts them. All of these situations are what we experience every day.
Seesmic is different. Each user can take the time to record what they want to say and show. If they mess up their message, they can discard it and start over. When they are happy with it, they can "post" it and it hits the top of the time line, along with all the other incoming posts. Each post has a title so you know which topic it belongs to.
For someone who is not a great public speaker or feels uncomfortable revealing a lot of information in a live face-to-face manner, Seesmic is terrific. If you are a "quiet" person, you can still get your complete thought into the discussion. There is no pressure to come up with a fully baked idea in real time. You can think about what you want to say, then record it, and then post it. It is video, so everyone else sees your face and well as hears your voice. That is another great thing about Seesmic, because you "see" the person posting, you get some "context" of where they are coming from.
If you like to talk "a lot", Seesmic is also great. You can participate in as many conversations as you like and there is no limit on how many posts you can make. If you create stuff that is interesting to others, the other members can "Follow" you.
You take your "turn" to add in what you want to say. Your complete idea hits the time line along with the posts from everyone else all doing the same. You follow the conversations by listening and watching the posts in turn, usually sequentially as they happen, but you can also jump around to any post in the time line.
The result is that the conversations that do take place are "deeper" than what would probably happen if they were live in real time. Because you are recording off-line, most people can assemble a coherent thought that adds value to the conversation.
There are a lot of goofy topics, and some people are not serious, but the other interesting thing about Seesmic is that everyone is civil. There is no name calling, no rude obscenities, or unacceptable behavior. Everyone justs posts what they think about the current set of topics. Much of the material is not "G" rated, but none of it is "X". Most posts are G, PG and R (for explicit language).
Seesmic is not about "arguing" in order to determine who is the best orator, it is about sharing. Any because there is a global audience, the contributions from people all over the world make up a unique type of conversation that could not be replicated in any other format.
With "Turn Based Conversations", everyone is equal. One person can not totally dominate the discussion. It is an "opt-in" system. If you like the topics being discussed, opt-in and post what you feel. If you don't like the current topic, then just move on to the next one or start a new topic.
Once the system is fully developed and massive numbers of users sign up, there needs to be a way to segment the conversations. Undoubtedly there will be a lot of useless, foolish, stupid stuff added once the masses show up. The basic types of filtering mechanisms used for other communication tools should fix this problem.
If you are looking for a way to express yourself verbally in a way where you are not under any pressure to come up with genius thoughts on every post, then Seesmic is something you will want to check out. There have been some hilarious discussions and online "parties", as well as serious discussions about world events. Because users are from all over the world, you get a unique perspective that extends beyond the everyday cultural ideas that you are used to in your local part of the world.
Some people won't "get it", but if you just go-with-the-flow of what is being discussed, eventually it will sink in. Because it is video, and very simple to record a new post, the conversations move very swiftly. Much more so than any other text blog or text chat system. Sometimes it is hard to keep current with the time line because so many new posts are being added every minute. It can be great fun.
One other thing, your video posts can be tied into your Twitter account so when you add a new Seesmic post, you also send out a Tweet.
"tonyperez" on seesmic
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